Approximately 30 people attended the veterans town hall last Wednesday in St. Germain in order to learn information about what VA health care can offer, and the importance of signing up.
The event was organized by the Vilas County Veterans Service Office and invited John Shealey, medical center director, and Tim Ellison, public affairs officer of the Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center (OGJVAMC) in Iron Mountain, Mich., to speak on various programs available to veterans.
Both presenters urged those who reside in the North Woods to enroll in VA health care.
Brian Thomas, Vilas’ veterans service officer, and Kevin Eades, assistant veterans service officer, also attended the town hall and answered questions from attendees.
Ellison and Shealey explained that their medical center covers 26,000 square miles, including the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and nine counties in northern Wisconsin. They shared there are 55,000 veterans that live in this area, but that they only have 22,000 veterans enrolled in the VA Medical Center.
Shealey said he has been working hard to enroll more veterans to “get the care that they’ve earned.” Ellison described their focus as covering veterans “from discharge to death.”
The town hall presenters also addressed several common myths that have been a barrier to veterans signing up for VA health care, including: “I make too much money,” “I’ve been out of the service too long,” “I never deployed, so I am not eligible,” and “I will be taking the place of someone that needs care more than me.”
Ellison explained that income is used to calculate potential copays; that the length of time since discharge does not affect eligibility; and that the form of service, whether in war time or peace time, does not affect eligibility. He also said that the more veterans that are enrolled, the higher the budget, providing a benefit to the pool of money to positively affect the level of care available for all veterans.
Shealey went on to describe a particularly heart-wrenching example of a veteran who contacted OGJVAMC after being diagnosed with a terminal illness that had wanted to live at the Iron Mountain nursing home prior to passing. The veteran had never enrolled in VA health care, and in the process of completing the enrollment, the veteran passed away.
“If the veteran had been enrolled already, I could have arranged medical transport for later that same day,” Shealey said. “The point is that veterans should enroll, even if they don’t use VA health care, so that if 10 years from now they need services, they are already in our system.”
There have been legislative moves in recent years that have also aimed to help veterans.
Ellison explained the PACT ACT, passed in 2022, and how it has expanded health care to include exposures in service, and also the Mission Act, passed in 2018, which allows the VA to buy care outside of the VA health care system.
In the Mission Act program, Ellison stressed the importance of calling the Veteran Crisis Line within 72 hours after receiving urgent care or emergency care, so veterans’ medical costs are covered correctly. He also stressed that urgent care visits should be in the network. In-network urgent cares throughout the country can be searched at va.gov/find-locations.
Other topics covered included the various levels of copays, service connected injuries, telehealth, mobile apps, MyHealtheVet, and the Virtual Health Resource Center which is a resource in Iron Mountain and available over the phone that helps veterans with applications and virtual resources.
The Virtual Connection program was also explained; its goal is to connect veterans from any clinic location, such as Rhinelander, with the regional office in Milwaukee.
One topic that was of particular interest to the attendees was the Early Alert program. It is a text-based platform with weekly check-ins and instant referrals for all veterans. The goal of the program is to reduce veteran suicide and promote veteran wellness.
“Since implementing this program, I know of five veterans that were suffering from a mental health crisis that were helped because of this Early Alert program,” Ellison said.
Ellison provided statistics for attendees at the town hall, sharing that in fiscal year 2025, OGJVAMC had 790 employees and 222 volunteers. In 2025, the center had boosted trust scores 5% higher than the national average, and is in the top five of all VA medical centers in the country for trust scores.
VA-wide trust scores are compiled by surveying randomly selected veterans with recent interactions with VA products and services. OGJVAMC also maintained its position as a top-performing facility, earning a five-star rating from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for hospital quality.
Following the event, Shealey explained that the town halls are put on once a year, but because of the size of their region, this is the first time they have been to Vilas County in several years.
The presenters thanked the Vilas County Veterans Service Office for arranging the logistics of the VA Town Hall in Vilas County, and asked attendees to share information they learned in the town hall with their veteran friends at their local American Legion, VFW, and any other veteran-focused events.
Shealey also said that they will go wherever they are invited, and if a group of veterans are interested in learning the information presented at the town hall they can call and ask to schedule a presentation by contacting Ellison at 906-774-3300, Ext. 32001.
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